I see I haven’t said anything yet about the central activity itself. Instead I’ve been taking up time talking about all the bits and pieces I have around me, and I haven’t even mentioned the magnifying glass or the Post-it notes or the worry beads. Wasting time, perhaps. Fiddling about and getting nowhere. But what else did you think writers do all day? Write?

I lurk about in parks and play areas with a sketchbook and observe what I see: the way small children move when they are playing, how they stand when they are rather unsure of themselves, or crouch down to examine something minutely, then take off like a flock of birds. Then I go home and make it all up.

In a recent interview with the East Tennessean, world-renowned children’s author Margaret Peterson Haddix opened up about her writing process and her opinion on what makes a good story while on the book tour for her newly released novel, “Under Their Skin.”

Best known for her award-winning books in the “Shadow Children” series and the “Missing” series, Haddix graduated from Miami University of Ohio with bachelor degrees in journalism, creative writing and history. Spending most of her time visiting schools, book stores or public libraries all over the country to meet with her readers for presentations or to sign autographs, Haddix is lucky to still find time to write. When push comes to shove, however, she has been known to meet rush deadlines against all odds.

“My ideal schedule is to write all morning and deal with other things in the afternoon,” Haddix said, “but if I am on a tight deadline — or really excited about what I am writing — sometimes I just write all day. Or, if the writing isn’t going well, sometimes I go take a walk or swim laps, and that usually recharges my brain. It varies a great deal.”

Haddix has now published over 30 novels for children and young adults.

When I’ve writing a first draft I try and write 1,000 words a day without planning too much ahead. I can tinker with what I’ve written the day before, but I try not to do any wholesale editing.

I can’t write with music on, and I’m very distracted if I have an internet connection. So I often go to a local cafe at 7.30am and work there for two hours, when it fills up with mums and babies. Early morning is a very good time for me to write, and it leaves the rest of the day free to do other stuff and think about my story and characters. I also find it useful to have a self-imposed time deadline, so I have to produce the right number of words by 9.30am. (This is a throwback to a life spent in newsrooms).